TRUMP UNIVERSITY: A LOSER

There was heightened action last week within the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign. As the week began on May 30th, the testimonials of former Trump University employees and students were released to the public by order of the federal court: the latest twist in the case stemming from the 2010 federal lawsuit filed in California by victims of the fraudulent Trump University.  
    For anyone who may have any lingering uncertainty about presumptive Republican nominee Donald  Trump and his ability to faithfully execute the duties of the Office of President of the United States, reading the affidavit on the practices and policies of Trump University will erase any doubts.
    The direct sworn testimony by those involved with the Trump lawsuit reveal a business that was rife with unethical business strategies that included employing unfit instructors and knowingly abusing vulnerable students with false claims of untold wealth and prestige - after they paid up to $35,000 for the privilege of learning the secret strategies of the self-aggrandized business tycoon, Donald Trump. 
    The documents released on May 30 lay bare an organization, 93% of which was owned by Trump, that was at best, a tremendous con job against those he now claims to represent: those whose aspirations were dashed by political correctness, the poor and the uneducated.    
    As the factual reality of Trump University revelations were being widely read and discussed, Trump spent the remainder of the week campaigning throughout California (igniting riots in San Diego and San Jose, another story) and delivered his denials of any possible wrongdoing at Trump University by ruthlessly attacking the federal judge overseeing the federal case against him, Gonzalo Curiel, for his Mexican heritage (another story from last week).
   Consider the testimony of  former Trump University sales manager Ronald Schnackenberg, "I believe that Trump University was a fraudulent scheme, and that it preyed upon the elderly and uneducated to separate them from their money."
    Schnackenberg recalled his experience of being reprimanded at Trump University for refusing to apply the high-pressure and emotional sales tactics to a couple that were clearly financially unstable. 
    Where Schnackenberg failed to go, however, was quickly taken up by other Trumpian sales people and, the couple in question, were successfully signed up for illusory success for up to $35,000 - all on credit.
    Then there was the sworn written testimony of former Trump employees who became disillusioned with the Trump culture within the faux university that celebrated their success of separating people from their money.  There was even a term for it, “OPM,” Other People’s Money.
    Former Trump Event Manager Corrine Sommers revealed the Trump credit card strategy for those least able to afford it. “It’s okay, just max out your credit card,” was the mantra used on those they wished to fleece.
    Former sales executive Jason Nicholas stated that the university sales promotion included the false promise of the Donald himself being “actively involved” in the student’s progress. “This was not true,” Nicholas testified, “ it was a facade, a lie.”
    As is his past practice, Trump presented his case through his representatives claiming that the satisfaction rate for his for-profit university is exceptionally high. Trump’s spokeswoman Hope Hicks claimed that Trump “looks forward to using this evidence, along with much more, to win when the case is brought before a jury.”
    The presumptive Republican nominee for President has staked his status as a businessman as his stellar credentials in his bid for the Presidency.  Forget my lack of transparency, the exploitative strategies and my flagrant abuse of people, Trump keeps telling us, I will do the same for the country and we will win.
    However, remember that the Trump playbook of get-rich schemes are the same ones that financial advisers have been warning consumers against for decades.  The Trump University Playbook has now been applied to his campaign con against the American people: promising people great riches, power and security - but the foundation is all lies. Nothing but a false hope and a scam.